The road goes on forever

If you’ve ever dreamed of cruising straight to Liberty Hill without once hitting a stoplight, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has got your number. On Wednesday, the agency’s board of directors approved a staff request to go shopping for a firm to design the upcoming 183A Phase III project. The 5.4-mile extension of the existing 183A Toll Road would stretch from Hero Way in what Google Maps tells us is Leander to just past State Highway 29, which in navigational terms is way up there. Up to three new toll lanes in each direction would be fit inside the existing right of way along the untolled U.S. Highway 183. CTRMA staff suggested the extension is necessary in order to keep up with rapidly increasing demand stimulated by the opening of the original segment of 183A 10 years ago. The agency expects to begin designing the new stretch of toll road next spring and receive environmental clearance next fall. Construction would likely not begin until after the fall of 2019.